Hanes launched a new campaign for its Comfort Flexfit boxer briefs called “Every Bod” that encourages men to feel comfortable with their bodies.
The activation includes 15- and 30-second spots that feature men with various body types from “hitting the gym bod” to “rocking that dad bod,” all singing about how “every bod is happy in Hanes.”
The “Every Bod” campaign will run across “specific” network and cable channels as well as online video and content across Facebook and Instagram, according to a release.
The light-hearted spots don’t take themselves too seriously—after all, everyone is singing off-key in their underwear, out in public, no less—but they tackle an issue for which men are often ignored.
“Society continues to perpetuate unrealistic expectations that impact how all of us, including men, feel about the way we look,” Sidney Falken, chief branding officer for HanesBrands said in a release. “Every Bod reminds men that being comfortable with themselves will also make them confident.”
Being comfortable in one’s own skin (and underwear) is a subject often tackled by and for women in marketing today. The demand for more inclusive marketing has created entire committees, spawned brand partnerships and forced beauty brands to re-think their strategies.
But men are impacted by social and marketing standards as well. A 2017 study by Google and Dove+MenCare found that just seven percent of men can relate to depictions of masculinity in media.
Plus-size model and influencer David Fadd encourages men to speak out about their body image and confidence.
“There aren’t a lot of guys that are pushing this idea of body positivity,” Fadd told BBC. “It’s sort of looked down upon to have body insecurities, [as if] only teenage girls go through those things.”
A recent study by the University of the Sunside Coast (USC) in Queensland, Australia found that when 110 men were shown fit men on television shows or commercials, their own body image declined by an average of 11 percent.
